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Abstract:

A technique and system for delivering content to users and subscribers in
a privacy based network. The technique can include creating a circle
between the user and any number of subscribers by a privacy based social
content broadcasting server system. Content can be received from the user
and sent to the any number of subscribers through the circle. Content can
also be received from one of the any number of subscribers and sent to
the user and the other subscribers through the circle.

Claims:

1. A method comprising: authenticating a user; creating a circle between
the user and a subscriber through a privacy based social content
broadcast service system; receiving first content from the user; sending
the first content through the circle to the subscriber.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving second content
from the subscriber; sending the second content through the circle to the
user.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising, authenticating the
subscriber.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first content is sent to the
subscriber as a short message service (SMS) message.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the second content is a response of the
subscriber to the first content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the user and the subscriber are
associated other than being in the circle together.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: generating a third content
related to the user from a network that the user is associated with;
sending the third content through the circle to the subscriber.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the circle is created between the user
and the subscriber based on information about the subscriber received
from the user.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the circle is created between the user
and the subscriber based on information about the subscriber retrieved
from a network of which the user and the subscriber are both associated.

10. The method of claim 2, further comprising: receiving content
preferences of the user; sending the second content through the circle to
the user only if the second content meets the content preferences of the
user.

11. A system comprising: a privacy based social content broadcast service
system configured to: authenticate a user; create a circle between the
user and a subscriber; receive first content from the user; a
communication interface system configured to send the first content
through the circle to the subscriber.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein: the privacy based social content
service system is further configured to receive second content from the
subscriber; the communication interface system is further configured to
send the second content through the circle to the user.

13. The system of claim 11, wherein the privacy based social content
broadcast service system is further configured to authenticate the
subscriber.

14. The system of claim 11, wherein the communication interface system is
further configured to send the first content to the subscriber as a short
message service (SMS) message.

15. The system of claim 12, wherein the second content is a response of
the subscriber to the first content.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the user and the subscriber are
associated other than being in the circle together.

17. The system of claim 11, wherein: the privacy based social content
broadcast service system is further configured to generate a third
content related to the user from a network that the user is associated
with; the communication interface system is further configured to send
the third content through the circle to the subscriber.

18. The system of claim 11, wherein the circle is created between the
user and the subscriber based on information about the subscriber
received from the user.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the circle is created between the
user and the subscriber based on information about the subscriber
retrieved from a network of which the user and the subscriber are both
associated.

20. The system of claim 12, wherein: the privacy based social content
broadcast service system is further configured to receive content
preferences of the user; the communication interface system is further
configured to send the second content through the circle to the user only
if the second content meets the content preferences of the user.

21. A system comprising: means for authenticating a user; means for
creating a circle between the user and a subscriber; means for receiving
first content from the user; means for sending the first content through
the circle to the subscriber.

[0002] People have used a variety of media to connect to one another. For
instance, people have used land-based telephones and mobile phones to
exchange voice and sound communications. Email programs have facilitated
the exchange of data, such as textual materials, computer files, and
media. Social media programs have facilitated human connections and have
allowed individuals and businesses to leverage the benefits of the
virtual and real-life relationships that people have with one another.

[0003] However, existing connection media are not without their respective
deficiencies. Telephones are made for transmitting voice and sound.
Land-based telephones do not easily accommodate transmission of data and
video. Similarly, mobile phones are made to transmit data and voice and
rudimentary messages in the form of Short Messaging Service (SMS)
messages. Though many mobile phones are equipped with data services, the
transmission of textual or video content requires additional applications
that are beyond the facilities of basic cellular phone services. Further,
email services require people to be directly connected to one another for
each communication and do not easily facilitate the pushing of content to
multiple people on a user list. Email broadcasts are cumbersome and often
inefficient for users. Though many social media programs facilitate a
broadcast in the form of, for example, a news feed, social media programs
do not allow users to easily control the other users that see broadcasted
materials. Social media programs therefore have privacy issues.

[0004] These and other problems reside in the art.

SUMMARY

[0005] The following embodiments and aspects thereof are described and
illustrated in conjunction with systems, tools, and methods that are
meant to be exemplary and illustrative, not necessarily limiting in
scope. In various embodiments, one or more of the above-described
problems have been addressed, while other embodiments are directed to
other improvements.

[0006] A technique and systems for delivering content to users and
subscribers in a privacy based network. The technique can include
authenticating a user. A circle can be created between the user and any
number of subscribers by a privacy based social content broadcasting
server system. The circle can be a private newsfeed for the user and the
any number of subscribers. The technique can include receiving content
from the user and sending it to the any number of subscribers through the
circle. The content can be sent to the any number of subscribers as a
short message service message. The user and the subscribers can be
associated through some other relationship other than merely being in the
same circle together. For example, the user and the subscribers can be
friends in another network.

[0007] The technique can also include receiving content from at least one
of the any number of subscribers and sending the content through the
circle to the user and the other subscribers of the any number of
subscribers. The content that is received from the any number of
subscribers can be a response to the content from the user that is sent
to the any number of subscribers through the circle.

[0008] The technique can also include creating the circle based on
information about the subscriber. The information about the subscriber
can be received from the user or retrieved from a network of which the
user and the subscriber are both associated.

[0009] These and other advantages will become apparent to those skilled in
the relevant art upon a reading of the following descriptions and a study
of the several examples of the drawings.

[0032]FIG. 22 shows an example of a screen depicting settings for a user
feedback circle.

[0033]FIG. 23 shows an example of a screen depicting settings for a user
feedback circle.

[0034] FIG. 24 shows an example of a screen depicting settings to create a
personal circle.

[0035]FIG. 25 shows an example of a screen depicting settings to add a
subscriber to a personal circle.

[0036]FIG. 26 shows an example of a screen depicting settings to add
contact information of a subscriber to a personal circle.

[0037] FIG. 27 shows an example of a screen depicting a list of circles of
which a user is a member.

[0038]FIG. 28 shows an example of a screen depicting a home screen of a
personal circle.

[0039] FIG. 29 shows an example of a screen depicting a subscriber list
associated with a personal circle.

[0040]FIG. 30 shows an example of a screen depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle.

[0041]FIG. 31 shows an example of a screen depicting a home screen of a
personal circle.

[0042]FIG. 32 shows an example of a screen depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle.

[0043]FIG. 33 shows an example of a screen depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle.

[0044]FIG. 34 shows an example of a screen depicting a request to turn on
magic stories.

[0045]FIG. 35 shows an example of a screen depicting story publication
associated with a personal circle.

[0046]FIG. 36 shows an example of a screen depicting a list of circles of
which a user is a member.

[0047]FIG. 37 shows an example of a screen depicting a home screen of a
personal circle.

[0048] FIG. 38 shows an example of a screen depicting depicting story
creation associated with a personal circle.

[0049]FIG. 39 shows an example of a screen depicting a subscriber list
associated with a personal circle.

[0050]FIG. 40 shows an example of a screen of a mobile phone application.

[0051]FIG. 41 shows an example of a screen of a mobile phone application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] Described are techniques that those of skill in the art can
implement in numerous ways. For instance, those of skill in the art can
implement the techniques described herein using a process, an apparatus,
a system, a composition of matter, a computer program product embodied on
a computer readable storage medium, and/or a processor, such as a
processor configured to execute instructions stored on and/or provided by
a memory coupled to the processor. Unless stated otherwise, a component
such as a processor or a memory described as being configured to perform
a task may be implemented as a general component that is configured to
perform the task at a given time or a specific component that is
manufactured to perform the task. As used herein, the term `processor`
refers to one or more devices, circuits, and/or processing cores
configured to process data, such as computer program instructions.

[0053]FIG. 1 shows a diagram of an example of a network environment 100.
In the example of FIG. 1, the network environment 100 can include a
privacy-based social content broadcast server 102, a network 104, a
privacy-based social content broadcast client 106, and a privacy-based
social content broadcast client 108. In the example of FIG. 1, the
network 104 connects to each of the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102, the privacy-based social content broadcast client
106, and the privacy-based social content broadcast client 108.

[0054] In the example of FIG. 1, the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102 can include one or more engines. As used herein, an
"engine" includes a dedicated or shared processor and, typically,
firmware or software modules that are executed by the processor.
Depending upon implementation-specific or other considerations, an engine
can be centralized or its functionality distributed. An engine includes
special purpose hardware, firmware, or software embodied in a
computer-readable medium for execution by the processor. As used herein,
a computer-readable medium is intended to include all mediums that are
statutory (e.g., in the United States, under 35 U.S.C. §101), and to
specifically exclude all mediums that are non-statutory in nature to the
extent that the exclusion is necessary for a claim that includes the
computer-readable medium to be valid. Known statutory computer-readable
mediums include hardware (e.g., registers, random access memory (RAM),
non-volatile (NV) storage, to name a few), but may or may not be limited
to hardware.

[0055] In the example of FIG. 1, the privacy-based social content
broadcast can include an operating system. An operating system is a set
of programs that manage computer hardware resources, and provides common
services for application software. The operating system enables an
application to run on a computer, whereas only applications that are
self-booting can generally run on a computer that does not have an
operating system. Operating systems are found in almost any device that
includes a computer (e.g., cellular phones, video game consoles, web
servers, etc.). Examples of popular modern operating systems are Linux,
Android, iOS, Mac OS X, and Microsoft Windows®. Embedded operating
systems are designed to operate on small machines like PDAs with less
autonomy (Windows CE and Minix 3 are some examples of embedded operating
systems). Operating systems can be distributed, which makes a group of
independent computers act in some respects like a single computer.
Operating systems often include a kernel, which controls low-level
processes that most users cannot see (e.g., how memory is read and
written, the order in which processes are executed, how information is
received and sent by I/O devices, and devices how to interpret
information received from networks). Operating systems often include a
user interface that interacts with a user directly to enable control and
use of programs. The user interface can be graphical with icons and a
desktop or textual with a command line. Application programming
interfaces (APIs) provide services and code libraries. Which features are
considered part of the operating system is defined differently in various
operating systems, but all of the components are treated as part of the
operating system herein for illustrative convenience.

[0056] In the example of FIG. 1, the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102 can include one or more datastores that hold
content, editing layers, and/or other data. A datastore can be
implemented, for example, as software embodied in a physical
computer-readable medium on a general- or specific-purpose machine, in
firmware, in hardware, in a combination thereof, or in an applicable
known or convenient device or system. Datastores herein are intended to
include any organization of data, including tables, comma-separated
values (CSV) files, traditional databases (e.g., SQL), or other
applicable known or convenient organizational formats.
Datastore-associated components, such as database interfaces, can be
considered "part of" a datastore, part of some other system component, or
a combination thereof, though the physical location and other
characteristics of datastore-associated components is not critical for an
understanding of the techniques described herein.

[0057] Datastores can include data structures. As used herein, a data
structure is associated with a particular way of storing and organizing
data in a computer so that it can be used efficiently within a given
context. Data structures are generally based on the ability of a computer
to fetch and store data at any place in its memory, specified by an
address, a bit string that can be itself stored in memory and manipulated
by the program. Thus some data structures are based on computing the
addresses of data items with arithmetic operations; while other data
structures are based on storing addresses of data items within the
structure itself. Many data structures use both principles, sometimes
combined in non-trivial ways. The implementation of a data structure
usually entails writing a set of procedures that create and manipulate
instances of that structure.

[0058] In the example of FIG. 1, the privacy based social content
broadcast server 102 can implement features of a privacy based social
content broadcast service provider. In various embodiments, the privacy
based social content broadcast service provider can allow users to create
groups of contacts from an Address Book and then send messages to the
groups of contacts through a proprietary application. The members of the
contact groups can then respond to the users' messages via media such as
text messages, email, or through the proprietary application.

[0059] In some embodiments, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can provide social content broadcasting while enforcing
a high degree of privacy. More specifically, the service provider can
prevent a user from transmitting any messages unless the user writes a
message, decides to share the message, and decides to send the message.
Comments on a story are not sent until a person has already responded to
a story. The privacy based social content broadcast service provider can
facilitate the creation of "circles." As used herein, a circle is a
private news feed for a user and a group of the user's friends. A circle
can comprise a specific set of subscribers that a user has manually
entered in and categorized. A circle can also comprise a subset of
contacts taken from an email client, a phonebook, or a social media
account. In various embodiments, a circle can comprise a set of
subscribers having a specific or general association (e.g., friendship,
alumni status, common experiences, or familial connections) with the
user. The subscribers can receive news feeds from the user. The news
feeds can include text, images, sounds, or video. The news feeds are
private in that the contents of the news feeds are not broadcasted to
people other than the user and his or her subscribers. Thus, the link
provides a user with a high level of control over the specific
subscribers that can receive his or her news feeds. When a user creates a
circle in the application from the user's contacts, the privacy based
social content broadcast service provider need not send any message or
invitation to the people in the circle. In various embodiments, even
though a user sees a message in a circle that the user created a circle,
the fact of the circle is not sent to circle subscribers and the circle
is only visible to the subscribers who download the proprietary
application and join the circle. Thus, new magic stories, new cover
photos, and invitations to join circles are not sent. The privacy based
social content broadcast service provider consequently creates an
incentive for a user to get others to join the privacy based social
content broadcast service provider and create accounts.

[0060] In various embodiments, people can join the circle of a user having
an account with the privacy based social content broadcast service
provider. In order for someone to go from being contacted by a text
message or email in a circle to being contacted via push notification,
the person needs to sign up for an account with the privacy based social
content broadcast service, and the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider will verify the account information (including, perhaps,
the contact information). This can be done by verifying the specific
mobile phone number or the specific email address that was provided for
the friend by the user.

[0061] In some embodiments, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can facilitate creation of customized or "magic"
circles. When a user signs in with social networks (e.g., Facebook®,
LinkedIn®, Twitter®, or other social networks), the privacy based
social content broadcast service provider can attempt to create logical
groups to show the user what kind of circles the user may wish to create.
With the user's permission, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can match the address book contacts with the social
network friends, and place them into groups based on the user's profile
information. For example, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can create a group for a user's family, a user's
co-workers, and for the user's school if the user has enough people in
the address book that share the same profile information. These circles
can be called customized or "magic" circles and can be associated with a
special set of rules to protect user privacy. For instance, before anyone
else is allowed to see a magic circle, the privacy based social content
broadcast service provider can ensure the user is able to review the
people in the magic circle and remove and add to the user's content.

[0062] In various embodiments, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can support creation of customized or "magic" stories.
The first time a user posts into a circle, the user is given the option
of turning on the magic stories. The user can also turn it on from the
user's circle settings. If the feature is turned on, the privacy based
social content broadcast service provider can scan the user's social
networks for interesting things every once in a while. Interesting things
include popular tweets that the user has made (assuming the tweets are
public), the user's birthday, when the user is in a new relationship,
when the user changes jobs, when the user gets promoted, when the user
changes location, and many other things. The privacy based social content
broadcast service provider can facilitate comments on the magic stories
by friends of the user just like any other story.

[0063] In various embodiments, when a user joins or creates a circle, the
user may see a little bio under the user's message. The bio can be
generated from the user's social profiles. The privacy based social
content broadcast service provider can take a job that the user has set
to be currently working at, or the school that the user is at, and try to
give other people in the circle a little information about the user's
current situation. If the user changes his or her job or your school, the
user's magic bio updates by itself. In various embodiments, the user will
be allowed to change what the bio says; while in some embodiments, the
bio is updated only automatically by the privacy based social content
broadcast service provider.

[0064] In some embodiments, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can facilitate integration with social networks. This
integration possesses advantages such as: (1) providing an avatar from
social networks, (2) making magic circles, (3) creating a magic bio, and
(4) creating magic stories.

[0065] In various embodiments, the privacy based social content broadcast
service provider can implement strict privacy controls. The privacy based
social content broadcast service provider need not store a user's contact
data. The privacy based social content broadcast service provider need
not even store anything outside the phone number and email that the
privacy based social content broadcast service provider picked for the
people in a user's magic circles. The privacy based social content
broadcast service provider can prioritize using email instead of text
messages to ensure a better experience. In various embodiments, the
privacy based social content broadcast service provider can allow a user
to see someone's contact information in a circle that the user actually
added.

[0066] In the example of FIG. 1, the network 104 can include a computer
network. The network 104 can include communication channels to connect
server resources and information in the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102 with client resources and information in the
privacy-based social content broadcast 106 and 108. In the example of
FIG. 1, the network 104 can be implemented as a personal area network
(PAN), a local area network (LAN), a home network, a storage area network
(SAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), an enterprise network such as
an enterprise private network, a virtual network such as a virtual
private network (VPN), or other network. One network of particular
interest for an online application service is the World Wide Web ("the
Web"), which is one of the services running on the Internet. The Web is a
system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With
a web browser, one can view web pages that can contain text, images,
videos, and other multimedia and navigate between the web pages via
hyperlinks. The network 104 can serve to connect people located around a
common area, such as a school, workplace, or neighborhood. The network
104 can also connect people belonging to a common organization, such as a
workplace. Portions of the network 104 can be secure and other portions
of the network 104 need not be secure.

[0067] In the example of FIG. 1, the network 104 can use a variety of
physical or other media to connect the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102 with the privacy-based social content broadcast
clients 106 and 108. For instance, the network 104 can connect the
privacy-based social content broadcast server 102 with one or more of the
privacy-based social content broadcast clients 106 and 108 using some
combination of wired technologies, such as twisted pair wire cabling,
coaxial cabling, optical fiber cabling, or other cabling.

[0068] In the example of FIG. 1, the network 104 can also use some
combination of wireless technologies. Wireless networks will typically
include an internetworking unit (IWU) that interconnects wireless devices
on the relevant one of the wireless networks with another network, such
as a wired LAN. The IWU is sometimes referred to as a wireless access
point (WAP). In the IEEE 802.11 standard, a WAP is also defined as a
station. Thus, a station can be a non-WAP station or a WAP station. In a
cellular network, the WAP is often referred to as a base station.
Wireless networks can be implemented using any applicable technology,
which can differ by network type or in other ways. The wireless networks
can be of any appropriate size (e.g., metropolitan area network (MAN),
personal area network (PAN), etc.). Broadband wireless MANs may or may
not be compliant with IEEE 802.16, which is incorporated by reference.
Wireless PANs may or may not be compliant with IEEE 802.15, which is
incorporated by reference. The wireless networks 2404 can be identifiable
by network type (e.g., 2G, 3G, Wi-Fi), service provider, WAP/base station
identifier (e.g., Wi-Fi SSID, base station and sector ID), geographic
location, or other identification criteria. The wireless networks may or
may not be coupled together via an intermediate network. The intermediate
network can include practically any type of communications network, such
as, by way of example but not limitation, the Internet, a public switched
telephone network (PSTN), or an infrastructure network (e.g., private
LAN). The term "Internet" as used herein refers to a network of networks
which uses certain protocols, such as the TCP/IP protocol, and possibly
other protocols such as the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) for
hypertext markup language (HTML) documents that make up the World Wide
Web (the web).

[0069] In the example of FIG. 1, one or more of the privacy-based social
content broadcast clients 106 and 108 can include one or more computers,
each of which can, in general, have an operating system and include
datastores and engines. In this example, one or more of the privacy-based
social content broadcast clients 106 and 108 can execute variable-layer
content editing services inside a host application (i.e., can execute a
browser plug-in in a web browser). The browser plug-in can provide an
interface such as a graphical user interface (GUI) for a user to access
the content editing services on the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102. The browser plug-in can include a GUI to display
content and layers on the datastores in the privacy-based social content
broadcast server 102. For instance, the browser plug-in can have display
capabilities like the capabilities provided by proprietary commercially
available plug-ins like Adobe® Flash Player, QuickTime®, and
Microsoft Silverlight®. The browser plug-in can also include an
interface to execute functionalities on the engines in the privacy-based
social content broadcast server 102.

[0070] In the example of FIG. 1, one or more of the privacy-based social
content broadcast 106 and 108 can be a mobile device. A mobile device is
a digital device having its power supplied by a battery and having
network connectivity. The mobile device can include cellular telephony
capabilities, and can comprise an iPhone manufactured by Apple® or an
Android® device. The mobile device can incorporate an Internet
browser, email functionalities, and text messaging (e.g., SMS messaging).
In various embodiments, the mobile device is a computing tablet, such as
an iPad manufactured by Apple® or an Android® tablet device.

[0071] In the example of FIG. 1, a device on which the privacy-based
social content broadcast clients 106 and 108 is implemented can be
implemented as a station. A station, as used herein, may be referred to
as a device with a media access control (MAC) address and a physical
layer (PHY) interface to the wireless medium that comply with, e.g., the
IEEE 802.11 standard. A station can be described as "IEEE
802.11-compliant" when compliance with the IEEE 802.11 standard is
intended to be explicit. (I.e., a device acts as described in at least a
portion of the IEEE 802.11 standard.) One of ordinary skill in the
relevant art would understand what the IEEE 802.11 standard comprises
today and that the IEEE 802.11 standard can change over time, and would
be expected to apply techniques described herein in compliance with
future versions of the IEEE 802.11 standard if an applicable change is
made. IEEE Std 802.11®-2007 (Revision of IEEE Std 802.11-1999) is
incorporated by reference. IEEE 802.11k-2008, IEEE 802.11n-2009, IEEE
802.11p-2010, IEEE 802.11r-2008, IEEE 802.11w-2009, and IEEE 802.11y-2008
are also incorporated by reference.

[0072] In alternative embodiments, one or more wireless devices may comply
with some other standard or no standard at all, and may have different
interfaces to a wireless or other medium. It should be noted that not all
standards refer to wireless devices as "stations," but where the term is
used herein, it should be understood that an analogous unit will be
present on all applicable wireless networks. Thus, use of the term
"station" should not be construed as limiting the scope of an embodiment
that describes wireless devices as stations to a standard that explicitly
uses the term, unless such a limitation is appropriate in the context of
the discussion.

[0073]FIG. 2A shows a flowchart 200A of an example of a privacy-based
social content broadcast method. In the example of FIG. 2A, the method
200A includes step 202, receiving user account information comprising a
username, a contact address, and a password. The method 200A can continue
to step 204, authenticating the user account and contact address (which
in various embodiments can be a mobile phone number, an email address, or
other contact address). The method 200A can then continue to step 206,
facilitating user login using the user account and password. The method
200A can further continue to step 208, facilitating creation of a privacy
based social content group comprising at least one subscriber having a
contact address (which in various embodiments can be a mobile phone
number, an email address, or other contact address). The method 200A can
continue to step 210, authenticating the contact address of the at least
one subscriber. The method 200A can continue to step 212, receiving a
privacy based social content group broadcast from the user. The method
200A can then continue to step 214, sending the privacy based social
content group broadcast to each subscriber of the privacy based social
content group. The method 200A can then continue to step 216, receiving a
response from at least one subscriber of the privacy based content group.
In various embodiments, the response can take the form of a text message,
an email, or a message using a privacy based social content service
provider (e.g., Everyme). The method 200A can then continue to point A.

[0074]FIG. 2B shows a flowchart 200B of an example of a privacy-based
social content broadcast method. The flowchart 200B can begin at point A.
The flowchart 200B can continue to step 218, providing the response to
each subscriber of the privacy based social content group. In various
embodiments, the response can be provided via text message, email, or
using a privacy based social content service provider (e.g., Everyme). In
various embodiments, the response can be provided via the setting
preferred by a given recipient. The method 200B can continue to step 220,
receiving customized content preferences (e.g., "magic" preferences) from
the user. The customized content preferences can be determined from the
type of content that the user has received in the past or to which the
user responds. The method 200B can continue to step 222, providing the
privacy based social content group broadcast or the response only if the
customized content preferences are satisfied.

[0075]FIG. 3 shows a diagram of an example of a system on which
techniques described herein can be implemented. The computer system 300
can be a conventional computer system that can be used as a client
computer system, such as a wireless client or a workstation, or a server
computer system. The computer system 300 includes a computer 302, I/O
devices 304, and a display device 306. The computer 302 includes a
processor 308, a communications interface 310, memory 312, display
controller 314, non-volatile storage 316, and I/O controller 318. The
computer 302 may be coupled to or include the I/O devices 304 and display
device 306.

[0076] The computer 302 interfaces to external systems through the
communications interface 310, which may include a modem or network
interface. It will be appreciated that the communications interface 310
can be considered to be part of the computer system 300 or a part of the
computer 302. The communications interface 310 can be an analog modem,
ISDN modem, cable modem, token ring interface, satellite transmission
interface (e.g. "direct PC"), or other interfaces for coupling a computer
system to other computer systems.

[0077] The processor 308 may be, for example, a conventional
microprocessor such as an Intel Pentium microprocessor or Motorola power
PC microprocessor. The memory 312 is coupled to the processor 308 by a
bus 820. The memory 312 can be Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) and
can also include Static RAM (SRAM). The bus 820 couples the processor 308
to the memory 312, also to the non-volatile storage 316, to the display
controller 314, and to the I/O controller 318.

[0078] The I/O devices 304 can include a keyboard, disk drives, printers,
a scanner, and other input and output devices, including a mouse or other
pointing device. The display controller 314 may control in the
conventional manner a display on the display device 306, which can be,
for example, a cathode ray tube (CRT) or liquid crystal display (LCD).
The display controller 314 and the I/O controller 318 can be implemented
with conventional well known technology.

[0079] The non-volatile storage 316 is often a magnetic hard disk, an
optical disk, or another form of storage for large amounts of data. Some
of this data is often written, by a direct memory access process, into
memory 312 during execution of software in the computer 302. One of skill
in the art will immediately recognize that the terms "machine-readable
medium" or "computer-readable medium" includes any type of storage device
that is accessible by the processor 308 and also encompasses a carrier
wave that encodes a data signal.

[0080] The computer system 300 is one example of many possible computer
systems which have different architectures. For example, personal
computers based on an Intel microprocessor often have multiple buses, one
of which can be an I/O bus for the peripherals and one that directly
connects the processor 308 and the memory 312 (often referred to as a
memory bus). The buses are connected together through bridge components
that perform any necessary translation due to differing bus protocols.

[0081] Network computers are another type of computer system that can be
used in conjunction with the teachings provided herein. Network computers
do not usually include a hard disk or other mass storage, and the
executable programs are loaded from a network connection into the memory
312 for execution by the processor 308. A Web TV system, which is known
in the art, is also considered to be a computer system, but it may lack
some of the features shown in FIG. 3, such as certain input or output
devices. A typical computer system will usually include at least a
processor, memory, and a bus coupling the memory to the processor.

[0082] Some portions of the detailed description are presented in terms of
algorithms and symbolic representations of operations on data bits within
a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptions and representations are
the means used by those skilled in the data processing arts to most
effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled in the
art. An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a
self-consistent sequence of operations leading to a desired result. The
operations are those requiring physical manipulations of physical
quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the
form of electrical or magnetic signals capable of being stored,
transferred, combined, compared, and otherwise manipulated. It has proven
convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, to refer to
these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters, terms,
numbers, or the like.

[0083] It should be borne in mind, however, that all of these and similar
terms are to be associated with the appropriate physical quantities and
are merely convenient labels applied to these quantities. Unless
specifically stated otherwise as apparent from the following discussion,
it is appreciated that throughout the description, discussions utilizing
terms such as "processing" or "computing" or "calculating" or
"determining" or "displaying" or the like, refer to the action and
processes of a computer system, or similar electronic computing device,
that manipulates and transforms data represented as physical (electronic)
quantities within the computer system's registers and memories into other
data similarly represented as physical quantities within the computer
system memories or registers or other such information storage,
transmission or display devices.

[0084] Techniques described herein relate to apparatus for performing the
operations. The apparatus can be specially constructed for the required
purposes, or it can comprise a general purpose computer selectively
activated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer.
Such a computer program may be stored in a computer readable storage
medium, such as, but is not limited to, read-only memories (ROMs), random
access memories (RAMs), EPROMs, EEPROMs, magnetic or optical cards, any
type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, CD-ROMs, and
magnetic-optical disks, or any type of media suitable for storing
electronic instructions, and each coupled to a computer system bus.

[0085]FIG. 4 shows an example of a login screen 400 for a privacy-based
social content broadcast system. The login screen can reside on a privacy
based social content broadcast client. In the example of FIG. 4, the
login screen 400 includes a title bar, a name field, an email field, and
a password field. The login screen 400 further includes a sign up button
and a link to terms of service for the privacy-based social network
content broadcast system. In the example of FIG. 4, the title bar can
list a title of a privacy-based social content broadcast system service
provider, here, Everyme. The title bar can also show the word "login" to
signify that the service provider is accepting information from a new
user who wishes to sign up to an account with a privacy-based social
content broadcast system.

[0086] In the example of FIG. 4, the name field can accept a name of a new
user. The name field can be configured to accept text input using input
devices such as a keyboard or a touchscreen. The name field can be
segmented to accept first, middle, and last names, suffixes, and titles.
The email field is configured to accept an email address. The email field
can be configured to run a script to parse whether a critical character
(such as the character "@"), is entered in the field. The password field
can be configured to accept a character string. In various embodiments,
the password field can show specific characters as they are typed, and
can redact or hide each character following a brief delay after the
character is entered. In various embodiments, the login screen 400 can
make the email field or the password field redundant (i.e., can replicate
the relevant field) to ensure accurate entry. In the example of FIG. 4,
the sign up button can act to transmit the information entered into the
name field, the email field, and the password field. Once a user has
clicked the sign up button, the information from the name field, the
email field, and the password field, can be transmitted to a privacy
based social content broadcast server. In the example of FIG. 4, the
terms of service link can link a user to the relevant terms of service
for the privacy based social content broadcast service provider.

[0087]FIG. 5 shows an example of a user introduction screen 500. In the
example of FIG. 5, the user introduction screen 500 can include a title
bar, a link to privacy based social content broadcast categories, an
introduction bubble, and a transition button. The title bar can include a
settings button, a title of a privacy based social content broadcast
service provider, and an add privacy based social content category
button. The settings button can take a user to account settings for a
privacy based social content broadcast service provider, discussed later.
The title bar can also list the name of a privacy based social content
broadcast service provider, here Everyme. The add privacy-based social
content category button in the title bar can facilitate the addition of
privacy based social content (e.g., a circle). By clicking the add
privacy based social content category button, a user can add a privacy
based content category (e.g., a "circle") to his or her account.

[0088] In the example of FIG. 5, the link to the privacy based social
content categories can include a link to one or more circles. As
discussed, a circle is a private news feed for a user and a group of the
user's friends. A circle can comprise a specific set of subscribers that
a user has manually entered in and categorized. A circle can also
comprise a subset of contacts taken from an email client, a phonebook, or
a social media account. In various embodiments, a circle can comprise a
set of subscribers having a specific or general association (e.g.,
friendship, alumni status, common experiences, or familial connections)
with the user. The subscribers can receive news feeds from the user. The
news feeds can include text, images, sounds, or video. The news feeds are
private in that the contents of the news feeds are not broadcasted to
people other than the user and his or her subscribers. Thus, the link
provides a user with a high level of control over the specific
subscribers that can receive his or her news feeds. In the example of
FIG. 5, the introduction bubble can include text to help a new user
navigate to a circle. On clicking the transition button, a user can be
taken to a feedback circle screen.

[0089]FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen 600 depicting a user feedback
circle. The screen 600 can include a title bar, a list of subscribers, a
subscriber post, and a comment field. In the example of FIG. 6, the title
bar can include a link button, a screen title, and a compose button. The
link button can allow the user to return to another screen. The screen
title can provide a context for the user's experience in privacy based
social content broadcast system. Here, the user is a subscriber to a
feedback circle, and the screen title provides the word "Feedback" to
indicate that the user is subscribing to a private news feed from the
feedback circle. The compose button allows the user/subscriber to post a
message to the feedback circle. The list of subscribers shows that the
feedback circle is shared among six people. The subscriber post shows a
private news post from another member of the feedback circle. For
example, the subscriber post in FIG. 6 shows a request by a user named
"Oliver" for subscribers to share their individual news stories. The
comment field allows the subscriber to directly comment on the post by
the user "Oliver."

[0090] FIG. 7 shows an example of a screen 700 depicting a user feedback
circle. In this example, the screen 700 is a continuation of the screen
600 of FIG. 6, and a user can navigate to the screen 700 from the screen
600 by scrolling down from the screen 600. In the example of FIG. 7, the
screen 700 can include a title bar and a news feed. The title bar of the
screen 700 can be similar to the title bar of the screen 600 in FIG. 6.

[0091] The news feed on the screen 700 can include posts from subscribers
to the feedback circle. In this example, the screen 700 shows a first
news post from a user named "Vibhu." The first news post solicits
questions from the specific subscriber, here "User." The news feed
further includes a second news post indicating that "Oliver" joined the
feedback circle. The second news post details Oliver's background and the
fact that the specific subscriber added Oliver to the feedback circle.
The screen 700 can also include a third news post from the subscriber
Vibhu. The third news feed can show Vibhu's background and can state the
fact that the specific subscriber added Vibhu to the feedback circle.

[0092] FIG. 8 shows an example of a screen 800 depicting a user feedback
circle. In this example, the screen 800 is a continuation of the screen
700 of FIG. 7, and a user can navigate to the screen 800 from the screen
700 by scrolling down from the screen 700. In this example, the screen
800 can include a first news post by Maurycy, a second news post by a
user Cortland, and a third news post by a user Scott. Each of the first
news post, the second news post, and the third news post can include
background information of a user and the fact that the specific
subscriber added those users to the feedback circle.

[0093]FIG. 9 shows an example of a screen 900 depicting a user feedback
circle. In this example, the screen 900 is a continuation of the screen
800 of FIG. 8, and a user can navigate to the screen 900 from the screen
800 by scrolling down from the screen 800. In this example, the screen
900 can include a first news post by Maurycy, a second news post by a
user Cortland, and a third news post by a user Scott. Each of the first
news post, the second news post, and the third news post can include
background information of a user and the fact that the specific
subscriber added those users to the feedback circle. Further, the screen
900 can include the fact that the specific subscriber created the
feedback circle.

[0094]FIG. 10 shows an example of a screen 1000 depicting a story shared
by a circle. In the example of FIG. 10, the screen 1000 can include a
title bar, a news feed, an introduction bubble, and a transition button.
In the example of FIG. 10, the title bar can include a title of a privacy
based social network content category, here, the "Jones Family." The
title bar can also include a compose button to facilitate a subscriber's
broadcasting of privacy-based social content to the news feed. In the
example of FIG. 10, the news feed can include specific news posts from
subscribers to the news feed. For instance, the news feed can show that
seven subscribers have subscribed to the Jones Family news feed. The news
feed can show that a user "Josh" is in a new relationship, and the
comments of a user named "Amy." Advantageously, even intimate stories and
moments (such as Josh's engagement) can be shared with a limited set of
subscribers and need not be broadcasted to the outside world without the
permissions subscribers to this specific news feed. In the example of
FIG. 10, the introduction bubble provides an introduction to the concept
of stories. Consistent with the privacy based social content features,
stories include content that can only be seen by people in a specific
circle, here, the Jones Family circle. In this example, a subscriber can
share stories by tapping the "share" button (i.e., the compose button) at
the top of the screen, i.e., in the title bar. The transition button lets
the user access members of the Jones Family circle.

[0095] FIG. 11 shows an example of a screen 1100 depicting a family
circle. In an example, a subscriber can access the screen 1100 by
clicking the transition screen, shown in screen 1000 of FIG. 10. In the
example of FIG. 11, the screen 1100 can include a title bar, a user list,
an introduction bubble, and a transition button. The title bar can
include an add user button, a title, and a transition button. The add
user button lets a subscriber add a user to the circle, e.g., the Jones
Family circle. The subscriber can add the contact information of a member
satisfying a predetermined set of criteria such as belonging to a family.
The title provides a name for the circle. The transition button allows
the subscriber to exit the screen 1100.

[0096] In the example of FIG. 11, the user list can include a list of
subscribers. In this example, the subscribers are family members,
including Abbie Jones, Amy Jones, Dad, Josh Jones (the member who was
just engaged), Kate Jones, and others. The example of FIG. 11 can also
show a connection medium associated with each user. As used herein, a
connection medium is a method of communication that a user or a
subscriber can use to access subscribers in a subscriber list. In this
example, the connection medium associated with Abbie Jones, Amy Jones,
and Josh Jones is Everyme. This means that a message to the Jones Family
news feed will go to Abbie Jones, Amy Jones, and Josh Jones through a
proprietary social network, here provided by the service provider
Everyme. In some embodiments, the Abbie Jones, Amy Jones, and Josh Jones
can receive the news feed to the Everyme application executed in their
web browsers or running on their mobile devices. In the example of FIG.
11, the connection medium associated with Dad is email. This means that a
message to the Jones Family feed will go to Dad through email. Further,
in this example, the connection associated with Kate Jones is text
message. This means that a message to Jones Family will go to Kate Jones
through a text message (e.g., an SMS message) to Kate Jones's mobile
phone. In the example of FIG. 11, the introduction bubble can instruct a
subscriber to add a friend to a circle by tapping on the plus button
(i.e., the add user button) at the top of the screen.

[0097] Advantageously, in some embodiments, the service provider's
application can find the best way for a user to keep in touch with
subscribers of the news feed. The best way to keep in touch can include
the most commonly accessed medium of a subscriber or can include the way
a subscriber indicated that they wished to be contacted. Thus, in some
embodiments, the service provider can determine that Abbie Jones, Amy
Jones, and Josh Jones have downloaded the Everyme application. Therefore,
the service provider can provide news feeds to Abbie Jones, Amy Jones,
and Josh Jones using Everyme because these users have indicated a degree
of familiarity with the proprietary application by their use. The service
provider can similarly note that the user Dad is most proficient at
email, while the user Kate Jones is most proficient at text messaging. In
various embodiments, however, the service provider can base the
connection medium on a subscriber's expressed preference. For instance,
Abbie Jones, Amy Jones, and Josh Jones may have indicated, when initially
subscribing to the news feed, that they wish to be contacted through the
proprietary application. Dad may have previously marked a preference to
be contacted through email while Kate Jones may have expressed a
preference to be contacted through text messages. In the example of FIG.
11, the transition button can facilitate exiting the screen 1100.

[0098]FIG. 12 shows an example of a screen 1200 depicting user settings
and social media settings. In the example of FIG. 12, the screen 1200 can
include a title bar, a profile setting link, a push notifications
settings link, a circle settings link. The title bar can include a
feedback button, a title, and an exit button. In this example, a user's
clicking the feedback button can direct a user to a screen such as the
screen 1500 in FIG. 15. Clicking the profile setting link can direct a
user to a screen such as the screen 1600 in FIG. 16. Clicking the push
notifications setting link can direct a user to a screen such as the
screen 1700 in FIG. 17. Clicking the circle settings link can direct a
user to a screen such as the screen 2200 in FIG. 22.

[0099]FIG. 13 shows an example of a screen 1300 depicting user content of
users in a user circle group. The screen 1300 can include a display of
user content that is either a broadcast or a response to a broadcast that
is input by one of the users in the user circle. The user content, can be
a photo and a caption, such as the content shown in FIG. 13. The screen
can include a text field. A user can therefore input user content in the
form of text through the text field. The text can be a user's response to
user content that is either a broadcast or another users response to a
broadcast.

[0100]FIG. 14 shows an example of a screen 1400 depicting a subscriber
list associated with a personal circle. The screen 1400 can include a
list of different subscribers that are associated with a personal circle.
The screen can include a title bar that contains a name of the personal
circle. Each subscriber can be represented by a picture and ID
information that is associated with each subscriber. The ID information
can be the relationship that the subscriber has to a specific user who is
part of the personal circle. The subscriber information can also be
implemented as a link to a subscriber information screen. The subscriber
information screen can include additional information about the
subscriber that is not shown on the screen 1400, such as the contact
information of the subscriber.

[0101]FIG. 15 shows an example of a screen 1500 depicting a post to a
user feedback circle. In the example of FIG. 15, the screen 1500 includes
a title bar containing a cancel button, a title, and a share button. The
screen 1500 also contains a text field, here prewritten with the words
"Enjoying your Everyme experience?" In the example of FIG. 15, a user can
write his or her experience into the text field using an input mechanism,
such as the touch screen keyboard depicted at the bottom of the screen
1500 in FIG. 15.

[0102]FIG. 16 shows an example of a screen 1600 depicting personal
contact verification settings. In the example of FIG. 16, the screen 1600
can include a title bar which in turn includes the logo "me" and the
button labeled "Done." The screen 1600 can also include a personal icon,
which can be a graphical avatar or a user-uploaded photo. The screen 1600
further can include a user name and a notification that a user needs to
enter and verify email addresses and phone numbers in order for the
user's friends to add the user to a circle. In the example of FIG. 16,
the screen 1600 can list phone numbers and email addresses for the user.
In this example, the user has entered one phone number and one email
address. Once the user has entered his or her phone number and email
address, the user can click the "Done" button at the top right of the
title bar. In some embodiments, the privacy based social content service
provider can verify the user's identity by sending verification messages
to the entered phone number and email address. Thus, clicking the "Done"
button in the screen 1600 can direct a user to the screens of FIGS. 17
and 18.

[0103] FIG. 17 shows an example of a screen 1700 depicting a Short
Messaging Service (SMS) authorization. In the example of FIG. 17, the
screen 1700 can include an originating SMS address, and an initiation
message. In the example of FIG. 17, the initiation message includes a
request to verify the receiving phone by replying with the characters
":)" or by visiting an authorization website. A user can therefore verify
his or her mobile phone number by a reply text message or on the
authorization website. Once the user has responded to this verification
message, the privacy based social content service provider can provide
the mobile phone associated with the SMS message push notifications of
stories relating to a news feed for a circle.

[0104]FIG. 18 shows an example of a screen 1800 depicting an email
authorization. In the example of FIG. 18, the screen 1800 contains an
Internet browser window containing a location bar and a content pane. The
content pane includes an email inbox. In the example of FIG. 18, the
email inbox includes a verification email from a privacy based social
content service provider, e.g., Everyme. The verification email notifies
the user that the service provider wants to ensure the user requested a
push notification when a story is created, and contains a button that
directs the user to a verification link. Once the user has responded to
this verification message, the privacy based social content service
provider can provide the email address push notifications of stories
relating to a news feed for a circle.

[0105]FIG. 19 shows an example of a screen 1900 depicting a home screen
of a privacy-based social content broadcast service provider. In the
example of FIG. 19, the privacy-based social content broadcast service
provider is Everyme, and the website is everyme.com. A user may be
directed to the screen 1900 after verifying his or her email address (as
discussed in relation to FIG. 18) or verifying his or her phone number
(as discussed in relation to FIG. 17). FIG. 20 similarly shows an example
of a screen 2000 depicting a home screen of a privacy-based social
content broadcast service provider. In the example of FIG. 20, the
privacy-based social content broadcast service provider is Everyme, and
the website is everyme.com. A user may be directed to the screen 2000
after verifying his or her email address (as discussed in relation to
FIG. 18) or verifying his or phone number (as discussed in relation to
FIG. 17).

[0106]FIG. 21 shows an example of a screen 2100 depicting notification
settings. In the example of FIG. 21, the screen 2100 can include a title
bar containing a settings button and a title (here "Notifications"). The
screen 2100 can also include radio buttons that allow a user to turn
specific notifications on or off. In this example, the screen 2100
contains a New Stories radio button that allows a user to turn on or off
notifications about New Stories from members of the user's circle, a
Story Comments button that allows a user to turn on or off notifications
about Story Comments from members of the user's circle, and a New
Invitees button that allow a user to turn on or off notifications about
New Invitees to the user's circles. As a result, a privacy based social
content service provider can allow a user to control the amount and
frequency of notifications regarding updates to the user's circles.

[0107]FIG. 22 shows an example of a screen 2200 depicting settings for a
user feedback circle. In the example of FIG. 22, the screen 2200 includes
a title bar containing a circles button and a title. The screen 2200 can
further include a name button, a magic stories button, a push
notification settings button, a first alternate destinations button and a
second alternate destinations button. The circles button can return the
user to the list of the user's circles (see, e.g., FIG. 23). The magic
stories button can turn on or off magic stories. As used herein, magic
stories are stories related to events of particular importance in the
privacy based social content system. The magic stories can be shared with
a circle's subscribers as the magic stories are posted. In the example of
FIG. 22, the push notifications button can be set to turn on or off push
notifications. Push notifications are notifications that go to all
subscribers of a circle as the notifications are published by the circle.
The push notifications enable broadcasting of content relevant to the
circle to all subscribers of the circle without the subscribers having to
check for updates or manually send updates to one another.

[0108] In the example of FIG. 22, the first alternate destinations button
includes the capability to send stories to a subscriber's email address.
The email address can be a verified email address associated with the
subscriber's account with the privacy based social content service
provider. Further, the second alternate destinations button can include
the capability to send stories to a subscriber's mobile phone. The mobile
phone number can be a verified mobile phone associated with the
subscriber's account with the privacy based social content service
provider.

[0109]FIG. 23 shows an example of a screen 2300 depicting settings for a
user feedback circle. In the example of FIG. 23, the screen 2300 can
include a title bar comprising a settings button, a title, and an add
circle button. The screen 2300 can also include a list of circles, shown
in FIG. 23 as comprising the feedback circle. The user can add a new
circle by clicking on the add button on the top right hand corner of the
screen 2300. The add circle button can take the user a new screen that
facilitates the addition of a circle compatible with a privacy based
social content service provider.

[0110] FIG. 24 shows an example of a screen 2700 depicting settings to
create a personal circle. As discussed, a personal circle is a private
place for a user and a group of friends to share stories with one
another. Once the circle is created, the user and his or her group of
friends can be subscribers to the circle and its related updates. In the
example of FIG. 24, the screen 2400 can include a title bar containing a
cancel button, a title (here "Circle") and a next button. The screen 2400
can further contain a circle name field to allow a user to enter a name
of a new circle that the user desires to create. In various embodiments,
the circle name field can accept input from a keyboard or a touchscreen
interface. Here, the user is attempting to create a new circle labeled
"Old Work Friends." The new circle can comprise a list of alumni of a
prior workplace of the user. The alumni list and the user can form a
subscriber list of the new circle. The user can click the next button on
the top right hand corner of the screen 2400 so that a privacy based
social content service provider can add people to the new circle. In this
example, the user can be directed to a screen such as the screen 2500 in
FIG. 25.

[0111]FIG. 25 shows an example of a screen 2500 depicting settings to add
a subscriber to a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 25, the screen
2500 can include a title bar containing a cancel button, a title (here
"Choose People") and a create button. The screen 2500 can also contain a
search field to search for people associated with the user. In some
embodiments, the search field can accept text to search a database
aggregated from the user's personal address book or the user's address
books from his or her social networking sites. In the example of FIG. 25,
the screen 2800 further contains a manual addition button. When the user
selects the manual addition button, the privacy based social content
service provider can present a screen asking whether the user wishes to
add a phone number or an email address. For instance, the privacy based
social content service provider can present the user with the screen 2600
of FIG. 26.

[0112]FIG. 26 shows an example of a screen 2600 depicting a settings to
add contact information of a subscriber to a personal circle. In the
example of FIG. 26, the screen 2600 can include an add phone number
button, an add email button, and a cancel button. If the user selects the
add phone number button, the privacy based social content service
provider can prompt the user to enter the name and phone number of
another person. The privacy based social content service provider can
further send the other person an authorization SMS message. In some
embodiments, the authorization SMS message to the other person is similar
to the authorization SMS message sent to the user who created the circle
(see above). Moreover, if the user selects the add email address button,
the privacy based social content service provider can prompt the user to
enter the name and email address of another person. The privacy based
social content service provider can further send the other person an
authorization email. In various embodiments, the authorization email to
the other person is similar to the authorization email sent to the user
who created the circle (see above). The privacy based social content
service provider can direct the user to the screen 2700, shown in FIG.
27.

[0113] FIG. 27 shows an example of a screen 2700 depicting a list of
circles that a user is a member of In the example of FIG. 27, the screen
2700 includes a title bar having a settings button, a title, and an add
circle button. In this example, the screen 2700 includes an Old Work
Friends button and a Feedback button. The Old Work Friends button links a
user to the Old Work Friends circle and the Feedback button links the
user to the Feedback circle. The user's Feedback circle was discussed
earlier. In this example, if the user clicks the Old Work Friends button,
the privacy based social content service provider can direct the user to
the screen 2800, shown in FIG. 28.

[0114]FIG. 28 shows an example of a screen 2800 depicting a home screen
of a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 28, the screen 3100 can
include a title bar containing a circles button, a title (here "Old Work
Friends"), and a compose button. The screen 2800 can also contain a
subscriber number (shown in FIG. 28 as "5 People") corresponding to the
number of people subscribing to the circle. In the example of FIG. 28,
the screen 2800 can also include a user introduction feed that can
present the user's background or other information to the circle. The
screen 2800 can also facilitate entry of comments regarding the user
introduction feed. In this example, the phrase "5 People" operates as a
hyperlink to link the user with the specific subscribers in his or her
circle. For instance, clicking the phrase "5 People" can direct a user to
a subscriber list such as the subscriber list shown in FIGS. 14 and 29.

[0115] FIG. 29 shows an example of a screen 2900 depicting a subscriber
list associated with a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 29, the
screen 2900 can include a title bar having an add subscriber button, a
title, and a done button. In the example of FIG. 29, the screen 2900 can
include a set of subscribers, beginning with the user, labeled in this
figure as "Me." For each subscriber, the screen 2900 can display contact
information, such as an email address or a mobile phone number. The
contact information for a given subscriber could match the preferred
contact information that the given subscriber has provided to the privacy
based social content service provider when the given subscriber's contact
information was initially verified. The contact information could also
match the way that the user (i.e., the circle creator) indicated he or
she preferred to contact a given subscriber. In various embodiments, the
screen 2900 can present each subscriber as a button that can be clicked
to modify either the subscriber's user name or contact information.

[0116]FIG. 30 shows an example of a screen 3000 depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle. The screen 3000 can be accessed when a
user clicks the compose button (such as the button shown in screen 2800
of FIG. 28). In the example of FIG. 30, the screen 3000 can have a title
bar including a cancel button, a title (here "Story"), and a share
button. The screen 3000 can also display a story field that permits a
user to write and publish a story to a circle. In this example, the
screen 3000 is to publish a story to a user's "Old Work Friends" circle.
The story field can include a camera button that allows a user to upload
an image from a file or an attached camera to the story. The story field
can also include a locational button that allows the user to apply a
locational tag to his or her story. In this example, the story field
accepts textual input via a touchscreen but those of ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate that other input methods are available. Further,
in the example of FIG. 30, the screen 3000 can include a bubble
indicating the number of subscribers that a story is being shared with
(here 4 subscribers).

[0117]FIG. 31 shows an example of a screen 3100 depicting a home screen
of a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 31, the screen 3100 can
include a title bar containing a circles button, a title (here "Old Work
Friends"), and a compose button. The screen 3100 can also contain a
subscriber number (shown in FIG. 31 as "10 People") corresponding to the
number of people subscribing to the circle. In the example of FIG. 31,
the screen 3100 can also include a user introduction feed that can
present the user's background or other information to the circle. The
screen 3100 can also facilitate entry of comments regarding the user
introduction feed. In this example, the phrase "10 People" operates as a
hyperlink to link the user with the specific subscribers in his or her
circle. For instance, clicking the phrase "10 People" can direct a user
to a subscriber list. (A subscriber list having 5 subscribers is shown in
FIG. 29.)

[0118]FIG. 32 shows an example of a screen 3200 depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle. The screen 3200 can be accessed when a
user clicks the compose button (such as the button shown in screen 3100
of FIG. 31). In the example of FIG. 32, the screen 3200 can have a title
bar including a cancel button, a title (here "Story"), and a share
button. The screen 3200 can also display a story field that permits a
user to write and publish a story to a circle. In this example, the
screen 3200 is to publish a story to a user's "Old Work Friends" circle.
The story field can include a camera button that allows a user to upload
an image from a file or an attached camera to the story. The story field
can also include a locational button that allows the user to apply a
locational tag to his or her story. In this example, the story field
accepts textual input via a touchscreen but those of ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate that other input methods are available. A user
can write a story into the story field, as depicted in FIG. 33.

[0119]FIG. 33 shows an example of a screen 3300 depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 33, the screen
3300 can include a title bar containing a cancel button, a title (here
"Story"), and a share button. In the example of FIG. 33, a user has
written a story to subscribers of the "Old Work Friends" circle. The
story informs the subscribers of recent developments and invites the
subscribers to keep in touch. A user can click the share button on the
top right hand corner of the title bar to publish the story to the
subscribers of the circle. In some embodiments, a privacy based social
content service provider can present a user a request to turn on magic
stories in response to the clicking of the share button on the screen
3300.

[0120] For example, the privacy based social content service provider can
present the user with the screen shown in FIG. 34, which shows an example
of a screen 3400 depicting a request to turn on magic circles. As used
herein, magic stories are stories related to events of particular
importance in the privacy based social content system. The magic stories
can be shared with a circle's subscribers as the magic stories are
posted. A user can turn on magic stories by clicking yes to a dialog box,
such as the dialog box illustrated in FIG. 34. Whether or not the user
decides to turn on magic stories, the user can be presented with a story
creation screen.

[0121]FIG. 35 shows an example of a screen 3500 depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 35, the screen
3500 can include a title bar containing a circles button, a title (here
"Old Work Friends"), and a compose button. The screen 3500 can be
accessed when a user has clicked a share button, such as the share button
in the screen 3300 of FIG. 33. In the example of FIG. 35, the story field
has been filled in with the story entered into the screen 3300 of FIG.
33. The user has published the story, and correspondingly, the story is
accessible to all subscribers of the Old Work Friends circle.

[0122]FIG. 36 shows an example of a screen 3600 depicting a list of
circles of which a user is a member. In the example of FIG. 36, the
screen 3600 includes a title bar having a settings button, a title, and
an add circle button. In this example, the screen 3600 includes a Jones
Family button, a Best Friends button, a Co-workers button, a Sweetheart
button, a Stanford button, and a Soccer Buddies button. In this example,
the Jones Family button corresponds to a Jones Family circle created by
the user Amy Jones, the Best Friends button corresponds to a Best Friends
circle created by the user viewing the application, the Co-workers button
corresponds to a Co-workers circle created by the user Josh Devor, the
Sweetheart button corresponds to a Sweetheart circle created by the user
Natalie Cruz, the Stanford button corresponds to a Stanford circle
created by the user viewing the application, and the Soccer Buddies
button corresponds to a Soccer Buddies circle created by the user viewing
the application. In this example, if the user clicks the Jones Family
button, the privacy based social content service provider can direct the
user to the screen 3700, shown in FIG. 37.

[0123] Old Work Friends button and a Feedback button. The Old Work Friends
button links a user to the Old Work Friends circle and the Feedback
button links the user to the Feedback circle. The user's Feedback circle
was discussed earlier. In this example, if the user clicks the Old Work
Friends button, the privacy based social content service provider can
direct the user to the screen 2800, shown in FIG. 28.

[0124]FIG. 37 shows an example of a screen 3700 depicting a home screen
of a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 37, the screen 3700 can
include a title bar containing a circles button, a title (here "Jones
Family"), and a compose button. The screen 3700 can also contain a
subscriber number (shown in FIG. 37 as "7 People") corresponding to the
number of people subscribing to the circle. In the example of FIG. 37,
the screen 3700 can also include a user introduction feed that can
present the user's background or other information to the circle. The
screen 3700 can also show the entries to the circle from other
subscribers. In this example, the phrase "7 People" operates as a
hyperlink to link the user with the specific subscribers in his or her
circle; the privacy based social content service provider can direct the
user to the screen 3900 of FIG. 39 in response to clicking the hyperlink.
Further, in this example, the user Amy Jones has shared that she has
heard that Tom and Abbie are returning to town and it may be time for a
family reunion. The post from Amy Jones has six comments and four loves.
It is noted that Amy Jones may have submitted her post via text message,
email, or through the application of the privacy based social content
service provider. In this example, if a user clicks the compose button at
the top right hand corner, the privacy based social content service
provider can direct the user to the screen 3800, shown in FIG. 38.

[0125] FIG. 38 shows an example of a screen 3800 depicting story creation
associated with a personal circle. Screen 3800 can be accessed when a
user clicks the compose button (such as the button shown in screen 3700
of FIG. 37). In the example of FIG. 38, the screen 3800 can have a title
bar including a cancel button, a title (here "Story"), and a share
button. The screen 3800 can also display a story field that permits a
user to write and publish a story to a circle. In this example, the
screen 3800 is to publish a story to a user's "Jones Family" circle. The
story field can include a camera button that allows a user to upload an
image from a file or an attached camera to the story. The story field can
also include a locational button that allows the user to apply a
locational tag to his or her story. In this example, the story field
accepts textual input via a touchscreen but those of ordinary skill in
the art will appreciate that other input methods are available.

[0126]FIG. 39 shows an example of a screen 3900 depicting a subscriber
list associated with a personal circle. In the example of FIG. 39, the
screen 3900 can include a title bar having an add subscriber button, a
title, and a done button. In the example of FIG. 39, the screen 3900 can
include a set of subscribers, beginning with the user "Abbie Jones." For
each subscriber, the screen 3900 can display contact information, such as
an email address, a mobile phone number, or the privacy based social
content service provider (e.g., "Everyme"). The contact information for a
given subscriber could match the preferred contact information that the
given subscriber has provided to the privacy based social content service
provider when the given subscriber's contact information was initially
verified. The contact information could also match the way that the user
(i.e., the circle creator) indicated he or she preferred to contact a
given subscriber. In various embodiments, the screen 3900 can present
each subscriber as a button that can be clicked to modify either the
subscriber's user name or contact information.

[0127]FIG. 40 shows an example of a screen 4000 of a mobile phone
application. In the example of FIG. 40, the screen 4000 is a screen for
an iPhone® made by Apple®.

[0128]FIG. 41 shows an example of a screen 4100 of a mobile phone
application. In the example of FIG. 41, the screen 4100 is a screen for
an iPhone® made by Apple®.

[0129] Although the foregoing embodiments have been described in some
detail for purposes of clarity of understanding, the invention is not
necessarily limited to the details provided.